Be My Guest: ALICIA GARBO

My guest this month is my good friend from Facebook, Alicia Garbo. We've been friends for almost 2 years and she is a great gal. She has several wonderful pages on Facebook that you should check out as she will talk about during her stint as my guest. Here's the link to one of them:  British-Beauties..now on to our interview! Alicia's answers are in red. My comments are in blue.

Introducing Miss Garbo..

• 1. What made you start blogging? disregard if you do not have a blog but you can count your facebook page if you like?

  *One of the main reasons I started my 'Women of WW2' & 'Blitz Memorial' Pages is because I have a keen interest in how World War Two affected people on a personal scale. I grew up with tales from older relatives retelling me their experiences of living through WW2 in Britain & it just sort of fueled my interest in that era.
  Also I felt there were many Facebook Memorial Pages for the men who fought during WW2 (quite rightly), but none really for the women who sacrificed so much too, either on the home-front or battle-front. So I thought it would be a nice sentiment to do a Memorial Page in their memory.
  
  And I think you for doing those wonderful pages Alicia. They are awesome.
  

  

  
  

  2. Who are your favorite classic film stars? Name as many as you want?
  

  

  
  

  * There are so many I could name right now, but I will pick just a few. One's that come to mind are Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn, Vivian Leigh, Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Tippi Hedren, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Claudette Colbert, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Clarke Gable & Leslie Howard.
  
  You and Garbo...that's great. Glad to see Tippi Hedren up there too. Her name does not get called that often.
  
  

  3. What are some of your favorite films?
  

  

  
  

  * Some of the classic films I like are 'The Wizard of Oz, 'Gone with the Wind', 'Casablanca', 'Anna Karenina' (The Greta Garbo version), 'Since You Went Away', 'It Happened One Night', 'Holiday Inn', 'Breakfast at Tiffany's', 'The Misfits' & 'It's a Wonderful Life'.
  More modern films I like I would have to say 'Titanic', 'Sex And the City' movies, 'The Transformer' movies, 'The Terminator' movies & 'Cold Mountain', as-well as 'Pearl Harbor'.
  
  The only film you named that I'm not a fan of is Breakfast at Tiffany's..sorry.

  4. Describe your first classic movie experience. Like where and when..at a cinema, on TV, etc..
  

  

  
  

  * My first classic movie experience happened when I was about 15 years old & a mentor at school borrowed me her VHS copy of 'Gone with the Wind'. I remember finishing school early one Friday afternoon & I decided to watch 'Gone with the Wind' at home. All I can say is that I was blown away by the scope & scale of the movie & I couldn't believe that it was made in 1939, it didn't seem that old to me. I so wanted to be like Scarlett O'Hara funnily enough & instantly my love affair with classic movies began.
  
  You couldn't asked for a better intro to classic movies. Mine was His Girl Friday,

  5. What films upon first viewing did you not like, then later on when re-watching them, loved them?
  

  

  
  

  * One of the most recent films I can remember thinking that is 'Black Swan'. I went to see it at the cinema & found it a bit hard to follow, but once I understood what was going on I realized what a clever film it really was.
  
  Still have yet to see that one

  6. Describe the perfect way for you to watch a classic film.
  

  

  
  

  * Snuggled up on the sofa, on a cold winter night with the fire crackling & a cup of hot chocolate in-front of my TV.
  
  Sounds nice to me...it would be the same for me.

  7. How many friends, family member or co-workers share your love of classic films?

  

  
  * I think to be fair I am the only one who really loves old black & white movies, but my mother also likes a bit of Audrey Hepburn too.
  
  Well at least that is something..

  8. What is your favorite time period: the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's or 60's?

  

  
  * I would probably have to say the 40's, 50's & 60's. Most of all I love the 40's, the women seemed so much more glamorous & feminine than they do today.

  9. What are some of your favorite film quotes?

  * Probably 'Gone with the Wind's', "Frankly my Dear I don't give a damn!" Also 'The Terminator's', "I'll be back!"
  
  All classic!

  10. What classic films have you yet to see for one reason or another?
  

  

  
  

  *I've wanted to check out a few of Alfred Hitchcock's movies. Especially one's with Grace Kelly in them. Also I would like to check out Veronica Lake's movies, as she is such a huge icon of the 40's with her 'Peek-a-boo' hair-style.
  
  OH I love Hitch's films, especially the ones with Grace. But also his early films as well. I have seen a few of Lake's films like Sullivan's Travels and the ones she made with Alan Ladd. I was very impressed.

  11. What is your favorite genre?

  *I really like love-story's, as I am a hopeless romantic to be honest. I also love movies with a lot of action & special effects in them too.
  
  Sweet!

  12. If you threw a movie theme party, describe how you would do it. The costumes, decorations, food, etc.

  

  
  
  *I think I would do a 30's/40's themed 'Casablanca' movie party. I'd want everybody to come dressed in 40's clothes ideally & have lots of 40's jazz music on & for it to be like "Rick's Café Américain".
  
  Sounds like an awesome idea! Please send me an invite when you do have one.
  
  

  13. What are some films that are widely loved that you couldn't care less about?

  * I can't really think of any at the moment to be honest.
  
  That's cool

  14. Who’s the biggest film fanatic that you know? Besides yourself of course.

  * Well if I'm being honest I can't think of anybody else, who loves movie night as much as myself, so I would have to say myself.
  
  Cool again...

  15. And finally who are some of your favorite film characters?
  

  

  
  

  * I love the tempestuousness & bitchiness of Scarlett O'Hara & her will to get what she wants. Portrayed by the incredibly beautiful Vivian Leigh.
  I also like Sarah Connor & her courage & braveness to survive against all odds, from 'The Terminator' films, played by Linda Hamilton.
  I like Holly Golightly, a sort of free spirit, who's not what she seems at all & wonderfully represented by the exquisite Audrey Hepburn.
  Rose DeWitt Bukater from 'Titanic' & her struggles to break free from the confines of her life acted out by the marvelous Kate Winslet.
  Last but not least Rose Tabor the divorcee from 'The Misfits', who seems sort of flawed. Represented by the wonderful Marilyn Monroe.
  I seem to like very vulnerable characters for some reason,ha. :)
  
  
  Cool. Thank you Alicia for being my guest this month. Hope everyone enjoyed having her here as much as I did. And please check out her wonderful pages on Facebook!

Breakfast At Tiffany's or Butterfield 8?

There's nothing better than when people discuss a topic and each have their own distinct views that are complete opposite of one another. And, no I'm not talking politics. I'm talking about movies. Don't get me wrong, I love it when I talk to friends and co-workers and chat buddies and we love the same movies and actors. But if everyone agreed on everything all the time, the world would be a very boring place. Anyway I've recently been blogging about Audrey Hepburn a lot and while I love many of her films, Breakfast at Tiffany's is not high on that list. But I do love Butterfield 8, starring Liz Taylor. And since these are somewhat similar movies, I decided to do a post on comparing them.

First is Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn is wonderful as Holly Golightly, the call girl who falls for George Peppard's Paul Varjak, who is a kept man to rich socialite Mrs. Failenson (Patricia Neal). Audrey was on a roll during this period of her career, coming off such hit films like Funny Face, Roman Holiday, and Love In The Afternoon. And she is amazing here and looks gorgeous, wearing some of the best outfits you will ever see a woman wear in film. Despite strong performances by the leads, I could never get into this film. I mean it is a well made film, and very nice to look at, but it never clicks for me. Maybe it's because I have seen it only one full time. And bits and pieces of it a few other times. And it's been at least 15 years since I've last seen it. So in fairness, it would probably be a good idea for me to watch it again so I can make a proper judgment. So Tiffany fans cut me some slack until I see it again.

Now Butterfield 8 is one film I did enjoy immensely. The fabulous Liz Taylor, who is one of my favorite actresses of all time, plays Manhattan model/call girl Gloria Wandrous (is that a great name or what?)

engages in an illicit affair with married socialite Weston Liggett (played by Laurence Harvey). Their affair soon runs out of steam when Gloria, under the mistaken impression that he'll never divorce his wife Emily (a solid Dina Merrill) and marry her, decides to begin a new life in Boston. This is pure 60's soap opera trash, but it's good trash. Liz never looked better, especially when strutting around in negligees or skimpy clothes. And Liz while winning an Oscar for Best Actress, sometimes goes over the top, but it still works. I don't know why I like this film more than Tiffany's but I just do. Probably because I like Liz a little more than Audrey and I've seen Butterfield 8 at least three times. It's the type of film, you can't believe you're still watching after an hour or so, not because it's so good, but because it's just good trashy, melodramatic fun. And I will give Tiffany's the edge in being the better made film, and maybe because my expectations are so low for Butterfield 8, but give me Liz all day long. But I guess the best thing you could do is watch a double bill of both these films and make the decision which do you prefer the most. Or just say that you like them both. I'll let everyone know once I watch Tiffany's again. But this was a fun post for me to write and I may to more posts comparing similar movies.

Notes: Butterfield 8 premiered November 1960 while Breakfast At Tiffany's debuted nearly a year later in October. It's ironic about the similarities between these two films: both cost around $2.5 million to make and both earned roughly the same amount of $15 million. So they were both hits and both had leading ladies that carried each respective film.